my bucket list (before i'm 30)

So everyone always dreams of doing amazing things within their lifetimes and write them down. I've always been a big dreamer, I've been told. When I was 4 years old, I wanted to be the president of the United States because I told mommy I thought Daddy Bush was too old and he needed a "girl helper". So now it should not surprise you that I decided to make a bucket list before I become a middle-aged woman :) . Some of these may change some way or another, but here is the "rough final draft".

Things to do before I'm Thirtyyy...
1. Run a half marathon.
2. Run a marathon.
3. Buy a new home.
4. Tie the knot with someone special.
5. Put away $10,000 for my savings account (That may be hard!)
6. Travel to South America and do something incredible.
7. Buy a slammin' new car.
8. Go on a cruise with a buddy or two.
9. Learn American Sign Language.
10. Take piano lessons (Let's see how long I stick with that)
11. Ride in a hot air balloon.
12. Go to Times Square in New York on New Year's Eve.
13. Help an orphan.
14. Visit the Pyramids in Egypt, Africa.
15. Las Vegas (Do I need an intro to this?)
16. Plant a garden.
17. Meet a celebrity.
18. Kiss someone on the top of the Eiffel Tower (If I get married before this, I will just have to settle with my husband :)
19. Go to Disneyworld and give Mickey Mouse a big hug!
20. Take a road trip with my girlfriends.
21. Help 10 strangers.
22. Take belly dancing lessons.
23. Teach in a foreign country (Somewhere in Latin America).
24. Write a children's book.
25. Get my Master's Degree in Education Administration or Educational Psychology.
26. Earn my Doctorate Degree (Who knows?)
27. Buy something from Tiffany and Co.
28. Get a makeover.
29. Lose one pant size.
30. Be in two places at once.

So there it is. There are some things up there that I know I can do and some things that are a little far-fetched. But knowing me, I will find a way to get them done somehow. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

some people may think i'm crazy..

Wow. I can't believe how long it's been since i've posted my last entry. I've been pretty busy even though the fall semester is now officially in the past! I've been doing a lot of working with Clark (the high school kid that I tutor in English, Environmental Science, and Spanish) and dealing with crazy last-minute shoppers at Victoria's Secret. I've actually enjoyed sleeping until 11am on most days. When I first came home, my mom thought I was going to sleep my life away! Some days I would not wake up until about 4pm (and that's not even the record time--5:17pm).

Since school has been out I have been making this "bucket list" of things to do before I'm 30. Anddddd running a half marathon and a marathon are among those crazy things on my to-do list. I've decided to go ahead and start now (since I'm 20) and try to cross off about 1-3 things/year. I've made the big decision to tackle a half marathon race in Raleigh, NC on March 27, 2010. Yeah go ahead and call me crazy for doing it, but it's great for my health and it will help me to achieve a cute bod by the summer time. I've promised myself to weight myself before and after each short/long run too. Soooo, a few things that I've got to pick up before I embark on my training journey are:

1. New Running Shoes (The ones I have are about 6 years old. I've kept them since the good 'ole running days in high school. The cute light pink color that USED to be on them is now LIGHT BROWN. pretty gross? yeah, i know.

2. Update my cute ipod nano. (I know I'm going to need the motivation, so why not cure it with some good tunes? I plan on buying everything from Michael Jackson to Taylor Swift to crazy techno music)


3. Get a nice cute haircut. (If you know me, you know how much I hate my hair on my neck while I'm running. Ok, ok, ok...I mean I could just put it into a ponytail, but then the ponytail would grow and touch my neck too).

4. Build a nice support system. (I plan on telling everyone I know that I'm running a half marathon. You won't offend me if you tell me to shut up about it. I mean I'm excited about it. You should be too.)

As you can tell, I was born to be a runner. I've recently stopped running because it was wayyyy too much work to be a GOOD full-time student and a runner. I mean my academics are on my list of priorities...but why should I sacrifice my health for it and gain 10 pounds in a year? Um yeah, I did that this year. So I plan on staying ahead and even taping some of the lectures to listen on my ipod while I'm running. Not a bad idea, huh?

So lastly let me just say this. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I've always been an athlete and I've always told my parents that I was going to do this one day. But actually doing it as an undergraduate is the unbelievable part! I plan on training for the marathon goal when I graduate from grad school. I mean I'm not going to be unrealistic with myself. Until next time...love, peace, and running. I'll see you at the finish line on March 27, 2010.

It's not the end...just the beginning.

I have always hated the endings to good things...and I am really unhappy with this semester ending. I have come so far this semester as a future teacher and a student. I have really enjoyed my time as a student in my Intro to Language Arts class. I will admit I didn't have high hopes for this class at first because of the lack of good quality language arts teachers in my life. Don't get me wrong, I had a few, but not enough to brag about. But I was excited about having my advisee's faculty advisor as a professor. It simply meant we all had something in common this year :)

As you know, I have always been a chatterbox and a writer...therefore I'm pretty positive you know what my decision about the blogging is. I'm going to continue to write in my educational blog (so keep following me). It gives me a few moments to flush my academic thoughts and embrace a fresh new start for the week. I also must admit, it makes my day for my readers to add cute little comments too :) I'm glad that people actually care about what I'm learning in my classes and my reflections about it. I'm very thankful for my wonderful professor who actually came up with the idea. I believe it connected our class together in a way that no other class at Meredith College has allowed me to. I would sometimes find myself procrastinating my homework just to see if some of my classmates had posted their new blog. I was eager to see what their thoughts were on the topics covered in our previous classroom.

My favorite part of this class would definitely have to be making my own digital storybook. Thanks to my tech-savvy professor, I have finally made a way for my study abroad experiences to come to life this semester. I was a little worried about the final outcome of it at first because I had so many memories and thoughts about Costa Rica. I was truly worried about not being able to include them all without writing a novel and putting everyone to sleep. Let's just say I want to personally thank the cool person who came up with the writing process...because it saved my life with my digital storybook. I was able to successfully organize all those adventures and crazy memories!

Just a few things that I will definitely hold on to when I finally have a class of my own:
-Blogging or Journaling (It connects the teacher to the minds of the little ones)
-The Six Language Arts (It gives everyone a chance to shine when used correctly)
-The Publishing Stage of the Writing Process (I absolutely lovvveee seeing the big finale of students' work. Not to mention...It's a great self-esteem booster)

A few things I'm a little hesitant about:
-Reading Aloud to ESL students (I really do not know how to approach this one as far as book selection. I would love to choose something that everyone could understand, but the book may be too easy or boring for others. HELP PLEASE)

I just want everyone to know that really enjoyed this class. I was recently talking to my mom about how much I fell in love with the classes I was taking this semester. The reasons for them was:
1. I'm actually interested in what I'm learning now. (Thank God I'm done with that awful general education component)
2. I'm making connections with things I'm learning and reading about and taking them back into the classroom.
3. The professors and classmates that I have shared my semester with. I love you all.

In closing...go ahead and roll out the carpet for the best semester award...because my FALL 2009 classes rocked it out (shout out to all my corn-shuckers there). I have enjoyed being a part of this wonderful journey of language arts. It's not the end my friends...but just the beginning.

Are you a poet?

My experience with poetry has been somewhat ok. I have never really jumped for joy when reading it, nor have I ever hated it. Back in elementary, middle, and high school, I was made to write poetry by the majority of my language arts and english teachers. I never got any fancy mancy award for them...just an occasional "good job". I guess that's why I never got into it. I felt like none of my teachers were really into it. However, I'm willing to pick it up and try it all over again.
My guess if I were to have a favorite style of poetry, it would be free verse. I like telling stories through my writing and having no restrictions or silly rules to follow would definitely motivate me to write poetry more. I also love, love, love funny kid poems. One of my classmates posted a great link to a poetry website the other day www.poetry4kids.com and I really loved it. There is some great funny poems about silly kid stuff up there. My favorite one was "My Excellent Education".
Hands down, I will definitely incorporate poetry into my classroom and I will fix the mistakes that my language arts teachers made. I won't just teach poetry because it is a part of the curriculum, but actually have fun and engage the students in it. It's a big difference from just reading poetry aloud like a monotone mannequin...than making the poetry really come to life...

It's the number one thing on my Christmas List...

Thanks to Dr. Duncan, I have proudly added "Freedom Writers" to the top of my Christmas list. I'm not a movie or a television junkie...and my friends will be the first to tell you that they think I'm weird for not watching a lot of television, but I really want this movie now. I recently told my dad that I would like to thank him and mommy for not allowing me to watch a lot of television growing up. It has resulted in me finding other cool super activities to occupy my time..and also resulted in me being a great babysitter (kids love my crazy imagination). The clip that Dr. Duncan showed us in class from the movie "Freedom Writers" was simply uplifting and refreshing. I know it was a film totally based on acting...but it had my full attention. If only teachers could allow students to "vent" like that without any type of consequences later (teacher or student)...the world would definitely be a better place. There would be less criminal activity and even New Yorkers would flash you a big smile, and say "hey y'all" if they ever saw you in a pizza joint in Upper Manhattan.

I would like to share with you that immediately after I left my Language Arts class, that I called my daddy on speed dial (he's #4). I shared with him about how we watched this great clip in class. He immediately asked: "Was this from the movie Freedom Writers?". I was shocked. Daddy had already seen this great movie and did not even bother to share it with his favorite daughter. I was like "Yessss!" Then I told him how I wanted, needed, better yet, I would die if I did not receive this movie as a stocking stuffer this year. And he says, "Ummm...sweetheart. I have that movie on DVD here." Whattttttt? And I never even noticed. Shows you how much I really do pay attention to movies and television. To make a long story short, I plan to go home this weekend to watch Freedom Writers with my family :)

Well back to the educational part...I think that "talk" is a wonderful thing to have in our lives. Just a side note: My drawing on the board symbolized, that whatever language you speak (Spanish, English, American Sign Language), communication is the key to successful learning in the classroom. And it really and truly is. Without communication skills, teachers would never be able to assess students' work and provide feedback. Without communication...this world would be a lonely place.

Peer Conferencing

The peer conferencing that I experienced with my classmates was extremely helpful. It's always good to get a second and third opinion on a paper. I feel like I'm really tough on myself when it comes to submitting papers; so most of the things that were addresses were errors that already recognized. However, there were a few things that I had in my paper that I thought were awesome, and my peers thought it would be a good idea to leave them out. I really liked that they were very honest with me because it only will make my paper better. My eyes doesn't necessarily always catch every little grammar error, so I was very thankful for the extra help. Peer conferencing is often a practice I utilize every now and then. After the eye-opening experience with my colleagues, I will try my best to try to use it more often. I learned that it doesn't matter what I think of the paper because I am not the audience...the readers are! Therefore, I should be getting a potential reader to correct the errors.
The pros of practicing peer conferencing in the classroom is allowing the students to build trust with one another and talk effectively about writing. Students also like peer conferencing because it gives them time to feel like they are in control; and this is especially important to middle school students. The cons of this exercise is that the teacher has no control over what is said during the peer conferencing. Teachers should be careful to watch for constructive criticism and not just criticism. Another con is that peer conferencing may bring down a student's level of self-esteem is they are not top-notch writers. Teachers should be weary of this and should be knowledgeable about what to do if it does happen.

Digging in the archives...

My past experiences with Literature Circles was great! I had great Language Arts teachers in 4th and 5th grade and Literature Circles was definitely their forte. I remember reading Shiloh in my literature circle in fourth grade. It was intriguing and it taught us about growing up and letting go. I really like the fact that we were "on our own" and it was almost as if we were teaching each other. The only complaint that I really had was that I was always the Discussion Leader and we never switched roles. Therefore I felt like most of the weight in my group fell on my shoulders. I did like the big project we did at the end. We had to go to the local animal shelter and "adopt a pet". Basically we had to advertise and rally for "our" pet to be adopted. I remember having a Beagle and getting someone to adopt him within two weeks. What can I say...I'm a recruiter!
In sixth grade I had another experience with Literature Circles. This time I read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I didn't particularly like this book because I could never understand the "magical stuff". My sixth grade teacher was big on "magic" and everything we had read had something to do with flying animals or walking wizards. I liked what we did we the book because we rotated roles. If it would not have been for rotating roles, I would have quickly lost focus.
While we did have Literature Circles in fourth grade, we also had Writer's Workshop. I used to think it was the devil! I saw no point in writing in class for 40 minutes, just to have my teacher bleed all over the darn thing. I wasn't as great as some of my friends in writing and they used to make fun of me because I was the "world's worst person" at getting a paper started. Then they used to look at my papers when I got it back and would laugh because I had the most red markings. Fourth grade is when I started disliking writing. We had to follow the 5 paragraph rule and I never got to finish what I was writing about. Good thing my seventh grade teacher fixed this. He made writing an activity and not a chore. Thank you Mr. Proctor!

The chapter book that almost brought me to tears...

Last semester when I took EDU 255, I had no idea that reading this children's book would influence me to include it in my classroom library. I stumbled across the book while reading in literature circles with my peers. After reading "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Munoz Ryan, I knew that middle grades ESL students would fall in love with it. The theme of the book is all about growing up and overcoming daily struggles of being in a new place. I immediately knew that my students would relate to it by being English Language Learners. I can only imagine all of the pain, excitement, and overwhelming feelings that ELL students have by being citizens in a new country. It's almost like dropping someone off in the middle of nowhere. You have to just pick up the pieces and move on; even if you don't want to.
I could use this book in many ways. I could use it to get my students to open up about there feelings of being in a new country and adjusting to change without losing their heritage. I could teach them that it's ok to find a true friend to release your emotions to. This chapter book is very powerful in those ways alone. I could also use it to celebrate their heritage. Maybe using it during Hispanic Heritage month would be ideal since the author is of Latino descent. I just cannot wait for the day to buy classroom copies for my kids...it will be an emotional ride...of one I am willing to take with them.

To Blog or Not to Blog?

So I think this response to this question is pretty predictable for me. I LOVE BLOGGING (almost as just as much as I love talking). I enjoy blogging and being reflective because it gives me time out of my day, just to do nothing but think and write it down. Most of the time I do not see blogging as just another assignment from another professor; but something that will genuinely prepare me for the real world and just growing as an individual.

Everyone who knows me can easily tell you that I am the world's BIGGEST chatterbox :) I talk all the time and when I'm not talking, I pretty much think about what I'm going to talk about next. Pretty sad, huh? Yeah I know, but it's just the way I was made. I like to express my opinions to others and let my thoughts become statements. So I think of blogging as that extra ear whenever nobody else wants to listen to me. I mean...I can always rely on a keyboard and a blog posting to listen to what I have to say...

The Roles of a Teacher

Teachers become very important figures in their students' lives. The "Teacher Roles During Language Arts Instruction" chart in our book illustrates just how heavily involved in the daily lives of their students. I feel like most of them such as Organizer and Facilitator are self-explanatory; but there are other roles that we often do not stop to think about. Some children rely on their teachers to get them through the day. Others think that school is just a waste of their precious time. Either way, it is our job to make them feel loved at school.
Being a role model is very important when taking on the profession. Children and parents watch your every move and they all expect you to be perfect. Almost like being the apple of their eyes. Demonstrating appropriate classroom behaviors and daily activities are vital. Most of the time children believe that their teachers are equivalent or just as important as their parents; so we have to set the bar and raise it often.
Looking over this chart made me aware of how important the many roles of a teacher are. It is our job to become involved in our classrooms and make it a safe environment. I cannot wait until the day that my students become the apple of my eyes.

How can you be a leader if you are not a contributor?

"In order to have an affect on someone else, you must first allow him to effect you." -Ralph Fletcher

I could write a book on this statement; for I feel that it has great significance behind the writing. When I heard this quote on the video about learning communities I automatically thought of all of the "teachable moments" that I have experienced so far as an education student. In order to have a great writing community, you must first recognize the areas in which the issues need work. How can you help a child in need if you are unaware of their needs? In this situation, I believe that observations are vital. Instead of being distant from your students when giving an assignment, I think observing and learning your students are a priority. Not only will it assist the students in becoming better writers, but it will also make a teacher's job a little easier.

As far as a teaching community is concerned, sharing ideas and skills with cooperating teachers are great ways to become an excellent educator. Teaching is constantly a learning process because there is always a more efficient and effective way to get things done. Colleagues can provide you with great advice and a helping hand. Having a great sense of a learning community can make the world of difference at the end of the day.

In my storybook, reading and writing are both worthy...

Writers are readers; and readers are writers. Simple as that. Whether you are writing for professional reasons or personal pleasure, it is all worth-while. I say that writers are readers because in order to write, you must know how to read. For example, while I am writing this blog post, I am carefully reading over what I am writing to ensure that it is grammatically correct and pleasant to the ear.

Reading and Writing share many stages that are similar to the eye. Readers organize their thoughts, generate ideas, explore the text, and revise; as well as writers. When readers respond to the text that they are reading, they become writers. They have to generate their thoughts and opinions on paper for others to view.

Writing is also worth reading because it allows you to share your insights on different ideas. Whether you enjoy reading to yourself or sharing with others, reading is a great way to reflect on thoughts and ideas. Sometimes you may see comparisons in your writing with someone else's; or you may learn to appreciate the differences you share. Writing also sparks discussions and dialogue between individuals. It is a great learning tool as well as a social tool.

I once was a "big" sister...

Thanks to my big brother, I remember my reading days very well. My mom was the type of mom that paid a lot of individual attention to reading. Every night before bathing time, my mom would have mini-reading conferences with my siblings and I. My brother was a very weak reader, therefore my mom always spent more time with him. She taught each one of us how to read learning phonics. Every day I would come home from school, mom would always have some new fantastic book or notebook of worksheets for us to attempt. Sometimes I even secretly wanted to destroy the notebooks because I just wanted to go outside and play with my friends. We even had videos with Barney reviewing phonics!

I mastered the skill of learning how to read first, and I thought it would give me a free ticket to go play outside. But I was wrong. Because I knew how to read, I was now responsible of helping my brother to master the skill. I spent hours and hours drawing pictures and sounding out letters to my big brother. I really felt bad for him because all of his friends already knew how to read, but he didn't. For once in my life, I felt like the "big" sister and that my brother needed me.

I guess phonics is responsible for my brother being my best friend now. My brother and I would always make games out of new words. Honestly, it was pretty exciting once my big brother started understanding the skill of reading. Phonics was also the beginning of my dreams of becoming an educator. When I tutored my brother, I would write on my chalkboard that I received for Christmas one year. I remember the feelings I used to get by writing on my chalkboard. It was the best present my parents could ever give me.

Phonics is the reason why I have the knowledge about learning new words today. Every time I come across a word I do not recognize, I sound all the letters out until they sound correct. I think phonics is a valuable thing when shaping the "experiences of reading" with a child. Children can relate to objects if they sound the same. When I am teaching international children new words I will definitely share my love of phonics with them, in hopes of it working the same magic it did when I was a proud 4 year old.

Sahara really is something truly special

I bet you can probably already guess who my favorite character in the story is....THAT'S RIGHT, it is Sahara herself. Sahara's comments and remarks remind me of the outspoken personality that I have. In Sahara's Special, Sahara pretty much just always says what is on her mind without any thought. Sometimes it can be dangerous or sometimes it can be hurtful to her. I think that the principal, Mr. Darryl has no idea what Sahara is going through. During the story, sometimes I get angry because I'm constantly yelling in my head "Only if you understood". Sahara is only in elementary school and she has already had a difficult life. Her parents are divorced and she constantly has negative energy surrounding her.

As far as the special program goes, I think Sahara is just being an outspoken girl. If someone took the time at her school to listen to her instead of always putting her in the hallway, I think they would be surprised at how bright and intelligent she really is. She definitely has a strong passion for writing and I really hope that her work behind the 940's section of the library gets discovered sometime later in the story. I also would like to see Sahara become the "hero" instead of the "suspect" at the end of the story. That would truly make a happy ending of the life of the girl in the hallway.

Six-Geese-A-Laying?!

I must say that I was surprised to learn that there are SIX language arts. If I were to guess how many language arts there was without reading the text, I would think of the Fantastic Four: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. But when I dig deeper and think about my first days as a student, Visually Representing and Viewing played a huge role in my education. As a child in elementary school, I would love it when my teacher would show films and allow us to create illustrations to better understand a lesson.

If Visually Representing and Viewing were left out of the language arts mix, then I believe that we would be leaving artistically talented students out. If a child has a stronger Musical or Spacial Intelligence, then reading and writing are not going to be the first thing to appeal to them. I also believe that we should accept the two additional language arts is because technology is what shapes and holds our world together in today's society. Not only do we utilize technology for personal purposes, but we also use it for educational purposes, such as blogs like this one!

In my experiences, I can honestly say that my language arts learning preferences have changed tremendously over the years. When I was in elementary school, I was an artsy bug and I loved to draw and create what I like to call "educational masterpieces". In particular, art helped me to better understand mathematics. The teacher could go on for days about addition and if I was not allowed to visually see it or draw pictures, the concept would continue to be irrelevant to me. Drawing three ants and adding three more helped me to understand that 3+3 was really 6. When I moved on to middle and high school, listening and speaking became my forte. If I was allowed to talk my way through things or listen to solutions to a geometry conflict, my comprehension of that concept was improved. I can remember in eighth grade when my mom hired a geometry tutor for me, my grade improved tremendously. I even received an award for the highest math class average that year. THANK YOU AMY! Now that I am a college student, writing is my favorite language art. When I write, it almost seems that I can never stop. Writing allows me to execute information and express my emotions in ways that I can understand.

As you can see, language arts has always had a special place in my education world. And as I embark on a journey of a lifetime as a teacher, I will try to the best of my ability to make this magical component a part of my students' lives forever...

P.S. "Six-Geese-A-Laying comes from the Nursery Rhyme, "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

Pura vida.

Howler monkeys...rice and beans...una hamocka...la familia de Morales-Bonilla...el instituto...pura vida. When I reflect back on the best two months of my life, these particular words often come to my mind. To get things started, I am a Psychology/Spanish double major at Meredith College with a ESL (English as a Second Language) licensure. This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity of studying abroad in Costa Rica for two months. Honestly, since the day I departed from the San Jose airport, there has not been a day that goes by that I think of Costa Rica and all of the experiences I enjoyed there. I met some of the most amazing people there and learned a vast of life lessons. I snorkeled with reef sharks, planted 175 trees in one morning, and ziplined through one of the biggest rainforests in the entire world. I also learned that "tico time" is the best time. Often in Costa Rica, people refer to "tico time". Basically, tico time means no worries...things will occur on their own time. During my time in Costa Rica, I participated in two study abroad programs. I completed the Language and Culture portion the first 4.5 weeks I was there, and bravely took on the Biology portion the remaining 3 weeks. During the Language and Culture part, I lived in a homestay in San Joaquin de Flores with a great family. I had a host mom, two younger sisters, and three funny dogs. Thanks to the homestay, my progress on being bilingual has increased greatly. I also felt loved and supported from my real family and my host family while I was there. Throughout the Biology program, I lived in a variety of places. I thought I would never have seen so many forms of diversified wildlife while I was there, but I was wrong. I saw sloths about 2x a week and it was amazing. Costa Rica has enriched me as a human being and as a future teacher. I feel like I can now relate to my future students and share my endless stories of adventures with them. Costa Rica...forever in my heart...and always on my mind.